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Ask HN: How to find a new role as a very senior software engineer?

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Re: Ask HN: How to find a new role as a very senior software engineer?

#11

Post by Jemaclus »

TheMog wrote: post #3
detaro wrote: post #2

What's not clear to me from your text: what kind of role are you looking for? I.e. what are you missing from the "senior developer" roles?

That's a very good question, and not necessarily something I find easy to explain concisely. Let me try anyway :). Note, some of the bad impressions may come from the usual clued up recruiters who are trolling LinkedIn for keywords and then crank up the spam. So what I expect from a role that's commensurate with my experience (trying to avoid "senior" as that's usually a pigeonhole): - You tell me what you need to ha…

> That's a very good question, and not necessarily something I find easy to explain concisely.

I've been where you are. One tip I have is to spend a little bit of time (an hour or two) and work out exactly how to explain it concisely. What's your elevator pitch? If you ran into the CTO of your dream tech company at a friend's party, and they asked what kind of work you would like to do, what would you explain in 60 seconds?

For what it's worth, I think what you have above is pretty close. If you can tweak it slightly, you can likely get to a "Here's what I want to be doing and this is why you should hire me" in the same sort of pitch.

I know it's difficult to explain sometimes, but it's worth your time to figure out how to frame it concisely. Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: How to find a new role as a very senior software engineer?

#12

Post by TheMog »

gregjor wrote: post #5

40 years and still programming here. I get freelance gigs through contacts, word of mouth, and an agency that represents me. Before freelancing I got f/t jobs for a long time solely through contacts and former co-workers. I’d start with your professional network. Job boards and gig marketplaces are a last resort, IMO.

Thanks for the perspective. I'm trying to build my network up again - I moved countries a few years ago and the majority of my network in back in Europe.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a new role as a very senior software engineer?

#13

Post by Jugurtha »

I know one thing that if people in this thread write books, I'll buy a copy. Contact info is in the profile for when it's out.

All the best to you all,

Just an idea you probably have thought about... Have you considered opening a boutique consultancy and doing business through it? It won't be the megacorp, and the person in charge, you, will actually be capable of wrapping their head around someone like yourselves? I say "yourselves" because there may be people in your situation who'll find it interesting. Name it "Cache", a pun on "cash" and invalidated grizzled software veterans to pool in their networks and save the day.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a new role as a very senior software engineer?

#14

Post by codegeek »

You need to think about the following to really define what you are looking for:

- What percentage of time do you want to spend coding vs doing other things like helping/guiding other devs, project management etc. 80 20 ? 60 40 ?

- Are you willing to come in to a team/company and use what they have versus redoing everything ? Do you have a preference for language/stack ? If there is a team that does PHP, would you be interested or only want to work in ?

- How do you expect to grow further as an Individual Contributor ? What could you do to make yourself more valuable to the company/team every 12 months ? I ask because you want to grow further and you have to define what that is exactly. One of the reasons senior devs start managing because that is easier to measure in terms of growth and impact. If you are a great developer, how can you keep justifying growth (salary etc) every year ? What should be metrics for it ?

Re: Ask HN: How to find a new role as a very senior software engineer?

#15

Post by kleer001 »

robomartin wrote: post #7
robodale wrote: post #4

A great question. I'm partially-grizzled (only 20 years experience) and looking for the same thing. Some sort of Principle Software Engineer with technical focus and no direct people management responsibilities. Searching LinkedIn brings back plenty of job hits...but it's mostly MegaCorp jobs like you mention.

Please don't take this personally, it isn't aimed at you at all. You simply provided the trigger for the thought, likely without intention. It's not "principle", it's "principal". Other examples of this exist, "your", "you are" or "you're", etc. As someone who has hired many engineers, let me tell you (plural) why I think accuracy in written communications is important. It's quite simple, really: Software development…

I'd concede your point if this were a formal forum where precise language is necssary. But it isn't.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a new role as a very senior software engineer?

#16

Post by robomartin »

kleer001 wrote: post #15
robomartin wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't take this personally, it isn't aimed at you at all. You simply provided the trigger for the thought, likely without intention. It's not "principle", it's "principal". Other examples of this exist, "your", "you are" or "you're", etc. As someone who has hired many engineers, let me tell you (plural) why I think accuracy in written communications is important. It's quite simple, really: Software development…

I'd concede your point if this were a formal forum where precise language is necssary. But it isn't.

You did not read my comment.

I was explicit in saying that this is irrelevant in the context of a discussion forum.

I also said my comment has to do with not making bad impressions when applying for a job.

Please read what I said, all of it.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a new role as a very senior software engineer?

#17

Post by watermelon59 »

robomartin wrote: post #7
robodale wrote: post #4

A great question. I'm partially-grizzled (only 20 years experience) and looking for the same thing. Some sort of Principle Software Engineer with technical focus and no direct people management responsibilities. Searching LinkedIn brings back plenty of job hits...but it's mostly MegaCorp jobs like you mention.

Please don't take this personally, it isn't aimed at you at all. You simply provided the trigger for the thought, likely without intention. It's not "principle", it's "principal". Other examples of this exist, "your", "you are" or "you're", etc. As someone who has hired many engineers, let me tell you (plural) why I think accuracy in written communications is important. It's quite simple, really: Software development…

Speaking of details: your usernames. Lol. Awesome coincidence.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a new role as a very senior software engineer?

#18

Post by [deleted] »

robomartin wrote: post #7
robodale wrote: post #4

A great question. I'm partially-grizzled (only 20 years experience) and looking for the same thing. Some sort of Principle Software Engineer with technical focus and no direct people management responsibilities. Searching LinkedIn brings back plenty of job hits...but it's mostly MegaCorp jobs like you mention.

Please don't take this personally, it isn't aimed at you at all. You simply provided the trigger for the thought, likely without intention. It's not "principle", it's "principal". Other examples of this exist, "your", "you are" or "you're", etc. As someone who has hired many engineers, let me tell you (plural) why I think accuracy in written communications is important. It's quite simple, really: Software development…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: How to find a new role as a very senior software engineer?

#19

Post by robomartin »

watermelon59 wrote: post #17
robomartin wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't take this personally, it isn't aimed at you at all. You simply provided the trigger for the thought, likely without intention. It's not "principle", it's "principal". Other examples of this exist, "your", "you are" or "you're", etc. As someone who has hired many engineers, let me tell you (plural) why I think accuracy in written communications is important. It's quite simple, really: Software development…

Speaking of details: your usernames. Lol. Awesome coincidence.

Didn't notice. Very funny!

Re: Ask HN: How to find a new role as a very senior software engineer?

#20

Post by 2rsf »

> very senior software engineer >> they do seem to occasionally look for this type of engineer

I have worked for one of those giants as a senior engineer with almost as much experience as yours, I don't remember many engineers actively developing beyond the senior level (level 63/64 at MS for reference) but we did have quite a few old guys (and a bit less girls) at those levels.

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